In brief

Hingis win brings up Sharapova

By wire services
Published February 23, 2006

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Martina Hingis took another strong step in her return to tennis, defeating sixth-seeded Anastasia Myskina 6-4, 6-3 Wednesday to set up a quarterfinal with Maria Sharapova at the Dubai Women's Open.

Sharapova, seeded third, routed Vera Dushevina 6-1, 6-0. Hingis beat Sharapova in straight sets in Tokyo this month.

"I do not have revenge on my mind, but I don't like losing to the same player twice in a row," Sharapova said. "Martina played some amazing tennis in Tokyo, but it is a different match (today)."

Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo beat qualifier Henrieta Nagyova 6-3, 6-1, and second-seeded Lindsay Davenport blanked Elena Likhovtseva 6-0, 6-0.

ABN AMRO: Tim Henman beat fourth-seeded Thomas Johansson 6-4, 6-4 in the first round at Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

BRAZIL OPEN: Top-seeded Gaston Gaudio was upset by qualifier Olivier Patience 6-2, 6-2 in the second round in Costa do Sauipe.

RMK CHAMPIONSHIPS: Teenager Andy Murray continued where he left off last week by overcoming Rainer Schuettler 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 in Memphis, Tenn. Murray won his first career title in California last weekend, beating Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick, but he was two points from losing to Schuettler.

BECKER WINS SUIT: Boris Becker won damages of $1.4-million from a German newspaper that used his image for an advertising campaign without his permission. A Munich court ordered the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung to pay the six-time Grand Slam winner for using a picture of him on an ad for its launch in 2001.

Three former college athletes sued to lift the NCAA's cap on financial aid and allow schools to pay for such items as laundry, health insurance and travel.

The antitrust suit was filed Friday in federal court. It seeks to overturn National Collegiate Athletic Association rules limiting college athletic scholarships to covering tuition, books, housing and meals.

The suit was filed on behalf of former football players Jason White of Stanford and Brian Polak of UCLA and former University of San Francisco basketball player Jovan Harris.

The complaint contends that the rules are an unlawful restraint of trade because major college football and basketball games constitute "a big, lucrative and profitable business" that generates billions of dollars from television and radio contracts, licensing and other agreements.

New England's Pat Noonan injured his hamstring during a 0-0 tie with Costa Rica's Alajuelense in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals in Hamilton, Bermuda, and will probably miss two games next month for the United States national team.

Earlier in the day, Noonan was among 20 players picked by U.S. coach Bruce Arena for next week's exhibition game against Poland in Germany.

Noonan is considered one of the players competing for one of the final spots on the 23-man U.S. World Cup roster, which will be announced in April.

New England was close to scoring on at least a half-dozen occasions but U.S. national team players Taylor Twellman, Clint Dempsey and Noonan could not convert.

EX-FSU OFFICIAL DIES: Phillip Fordyce, a former Florida State University administrator who spent two years as interim athletic director, is dead at 77.

[Last modified February 23, 2006, 01:09:19]